New High-Efficacy Malaria Vaccine Launched in Cote d’Ivoire

July 16, 2024

The introduction of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine in Cote d’Ivoire was a big step forward in the fight against malaria around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the vaccine last year, and this is the first time it has been given to everyone in the country.

Development and Approvals

Novavax contributed its Matrix-M adjuvant technology to the R21/Matrix-M vaccine, which was made by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India (SII). It was put through strict WHO regulatory and clinical tests that proved it worked and was safe.

Manufacturing and Distribution

The vaccine is highly effective and only needs a small dose, which makes it possible to make a lot of them quickly. Already, 25 million doses have been made, and plans are in place to make that number 100 million doses a year. Also worth mentioning is how cheap it is—each dose costs less than USD 4.

Rollout and Impact

Cote d’Ivoire was the first country to use R21/Matrix-M. The goal is to vaccinate about 250,000 children ages 0 to 23 months in 16 areas. According to recent sources, malaria kills about four people a day in the country, mostly young children. This could cut that number down by a huge amount. Aside from Côte d’Ivoire, the vaccine has also been approved in Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic. The release of R21/Matrix-M and another vaccine called RTS,S is projected to save tens of thousands of lives every year. With help from Gavi, 15 African countries plan to use this vaccine by 2024. This will protect about 6.6 million children over two years.

About Serum Institute of India

The Serum Institute of India, founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla, is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced.
It is headquartered in Pune, India, and was originally set up to manufacture immunobiologicals.
The company played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic by mass-producing the Covishield vaccine, a version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Notably, Serum Institute also produces vaccines for polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, measles, mumps, and rubella.
Its facility in Pune is the world’s largest vaccine factory in terms of doses produced and sold globally.

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